Please accept my apologies for comments not being posted for so long. I changed my e-mail address for my blogger account, but did not realize I had to change my settings to have comments sent to my new address, as well. I had not checked my old e-mail in several days and did not know there were comments waiting to be posted. I have gotten things straightened out with my blogger account and have posted any comments I have recieved. Sorry again, and thanks for reading.
David
Monday, October 29, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
"The Question" (part two)
Question: What is the question?
Answer: What does the Bible say?
In his book Protestant Biblical Interpretation Bernard Ramm writes, "obscure passages in Scripture must give way to clear passages." Later, he writes, "the theologian must basically rest his theology on those passages that are clear and not upon those that are obscure....Everything essential to salvation and Christian living is clearly revealed in Scripture" (pgs. 104-105).
Whenever we take the liberty of reading "between the lines" of Scripture we are allowing ourselves the dangerous opportunity to make the Bible say something that it does not say. Furthermore, we have the tendency to make it conform to some presupposition that we may have. So, I simply ask anyone reading this to clear your mind from any preconceived theological system you may adhere to and let the words of God speak loud and clearly.
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Isaiah 53:6
"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
Isaiah 55:6-7
"Say unto them, As I live, saith the LORD GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"
Ezekiel 33:11
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him , and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
John 1:29
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
John 3:16-17
"For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world....I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
John 6:33;51
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
Acts 17:30-31
"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
Romans 5:18-19
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 10:13
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
II Corinthians 5:14-15
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
I Timothy 2:1-5
"For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."
I Timothy 4:10
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
Hebrews 2:9
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
II Peter 3:9
"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
I John 2:2
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Revelation 22:17
If it is true (and I believe it is) that obscure passages must give way to clear passages, as Ramm has written, then the clear truth of the Bible is that Jesus bore the sins of all of mankind on the cross, so that all of mankind may repent of their sins and be reconciled to God. That does not mean that all men will repent of their sins and be reconciled to God, but that God has provided the means for it to happen.
Let me illustrate. Say a person has been convicted of a serious crime and they are truly guilty. If the governor decides to offer them a pardon, they still must accept the pardon to be free from their punishment. Whether or not they accept the pardon in no way whatsoever affects the effectiveness of the governor's decision. There is a personal decision that must be made. Likewise, the death of Christ is no less effective if everyone believes or if no one believes. Jesus' death provided the way of salvation, but each and every individual must make the personal decision to believe or reject. Just because we cannot fathom why a person in his right mind would do so, does not mean that it is not so.
Simply put, if the the nature of the Scriptures are to reveal God to man (and I believe it is) then anyone who simply reads the Words of God will come to the conclusion that anyone, not just a certain group, can be saved and that everyone has the opportunity to be saved, because Christ died for all. It is God's desire for all people to repent of their sins and the only atonement for their sin is through the blood of Jesus.
My goal is to expound the previous Scriptures over the next few posts I make to further explain what the Bible plainly teaches. It is not my intention to offend or belittle anyone else's theological position, but I make no apologies for simply believing the answer to "the question."
Answer: What does the Bible say?
In his book Protestant Biblical Interpretation Bernard Ramm writes, "obscure passages in Scripture must give way to clear passages." Later, he writes, "the theologian must basically rest his theology on those passages that are clear and not upon those that are obscure....Everything essential to salvation and Christian living is clearly revealed in Scripture" (pgs. 104-105).
Whenever we take the liberty of reading "between the lines" of Scripture we are allowing ourselves the dangerous opportunity to make the Bible say something that it does not say. Furthermore, we have the tendency to make it conform to some presupposition that we may have. So, I simply ask anyone reading this to clear your mind from any preconceived theological system you may adhere to and let the words of God speak loud and clearly.
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Isaiah 53:6
"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
Isaiah 55:6-7
"Say unto them, As I live, saith the LORD GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"
Ezekiel 33:11
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him , and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
John 1:29
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
John 3:16-17
"For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world....I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
John 6:33;51
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
Acts 17:30-31
"Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
Romans 5:18-19
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 10:13
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
II Corinthians 5:14-15
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
I Timothy 2:1-5
"For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."
I Timothy 4:10
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
Hebrews 2:9
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
II Peter 3:9
"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
I John 2:2
"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
Revelation 22:17
If it is true (and I believe it is) that obscure passages must give way to clear passages, as Ramm has written, then the clear truth of the Bible is that Jesus bore the sins of all of mankind on the cross, so that all of mankind may repent of their sins and be reconciled to God. That does not mean that all men will repent of their sins and be reconciled to God, but that God has provided the means for it to happen.
Let me illustrate. Say a person has been convicted of a serious crime and they are truly guilty. If the governor decides to offer them a pardon, they still must accept the pardon to be free from their punishment. Whether or not they accept the pardon in no way whatsoever affects the effectiveness of the governor's decision. There is a personal decision that must be made. Likewise, the death of Christ is no less effective if everyone believes or if no one believes. Jesus' death provided the way of salvation, but each and every individual must make the personal decision to believe or reject. Just because we cannot fathom why a person in his right mind would do so, does not mean that it is not so.
Simply put, if the the nature of the Scriptures are to reveal God to man (and I believe it is) then anyone who simply reads the Words of God will come to the conclusion that anyone, not just a certain group, can be saved and that everyone has the opportunity to be saved, because Christ died for all. It is God's desire for all people to repent of their sins and the only atonement for their sin is through the blood of Jesus.
My goal is to expound the previous Scriptures over the next few posts I make to further explain what the Bible plainly teaches. It is not my intention to offend or belittle anyone else's theological position, but I make no apologies for simply believing the answer to "the question."
Thursday, October 11, 2007
"The Question"
One of my professors at Bible college always asks, "What is the question?" From the very first day of class with him in your freshman year, this question is drilled into your way of thinking. The answer to "the question" is the basis for all that we do and believe as Christians. So, what is the question? It is, "What does the Bible say?" I know that that is not a very earth-shattering, mind-blowing revelation, but all we believe about the way we should live, the doctrines we teach, and the truths we preach must be supported by the plain teaching of what the Bible says.
I bring this up, because there are many people who call themselves Christians who fail to read and interpret the Bible for what it says. Instead of taking a passage of Scripture and simply believing what it says, they make up their own interpretation by either adding or taking away words and ideas in order to make it fit their own system of belief. Rather than letting the Bible shape their thinking and understanding, they twist the words of Holy Writ to try to make it conform to their preconceived notions and their own peculiar religious views.
Let me digress for a moment. I want to make it clear that I believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible. Yes, there are various forms of figurative language throughout the Scriptures, but its purpose is to impart some literal truth. I believe that the very nature of Scripture is for the purpose of revealing God to man. I believe that in the Bible God says exactly what He means and means exactly what He says. I do not believe that a person has to have a college-level education to be able to understand what is written in the Scriptures. I do believe that there are some things that cannot be understood apart from the guiding of the Holy Spirit, but I believe there are some things that a person can figure out for themselves. For example, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" is something that is self-explanatory. The most uneducated person can hear that and know what is being said. My four-year-old son can even figure that out. I also believe that there are some things we will never know in our finite minds this side of Heaven.
Without a proper system of hermeneutics (interpretation) anyone can make the Bible say anything. By way of illustration, I can prove that God is a female, because Psalm 48:3 says, "God is known in HER palaces for a refuge." Even without changing anything, I have totally misinterpreted this verse by ripping it right out of its context to make it fit a preconceived idea. (Please note: I do not truly believe that God is a woman.) The "her" in this passage actually refers to Mount Zion, but unless you read it in context you would not know that.
I say all of that to say this: Whenever we try to make the Bible say something that contradicts what is plainly written, there is something wrong with our interpretation, not the other way around. The very first rule of hermeneutics is that if the plain sense makes perfect sense, seek no other sense. If the Bible says one thing and it does not fit my predetermined theological system, I do not have the liberty to add anything to it or take anything from it, so that I can maintain what I believe, even if it goes against logic and reasoning. I am positive that God knew what He meant to say and the Holy Spirit recorded it precisely the way it was supposed to have been recorded.
This has turned into a longer introduction than I intended, but I feel that to say what I am going to say this foundation has to be laid. However, I will have to finish it in another post in the next couple of days. Think about what has been written so far and be sure that you believe what you believe because it is plainly written in the Scriptures. Remember, "What does the Bible say?"
I bring this up, because there are many people who call themselves Christians who fail to read and interpret the Bible for what it says. Instead of taking a passage of Scripture and simply believing what it says, they make up their own interpretation by either adding or taking away words and ideas in order to make it fit their own system of belief. Rather than letting the Bible shape their thinking and understanding, they twist the words of Holy Writ to try to make it conform to their preconceived notions and their own peculiar religious views.
Let me digress for a moment. I want to make it clear that I believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible. Yes, there are various forms of figurative language throughout the Scriptures, but its purpose is to impart some literal truth. I believe that the very nature of Scripture is for the purpose of revealing God to man. I believe that in the Bible God says exactly what He means and means exactly what He says. I do not believe that a person has to have a college-level education to be able to understand what is written in the Scriptures. I do believe that there are some things that cannot be understood apart from the guiding of the Holy Spirit, but I believe there are some things that a person can figure out for themselves. For example, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" is something that is self-explanatory. The most uneducated person can hear that and know what is being said. My four-year-old son can even figure that out. I also believe that there are some things we will never know in our finite minds this side of Heaven.
Without a proper system of hermeneutics (interpretation) anyone can make the Bible say anything. By way of illustration, I can prove that God is a female, because Psalm 48:3 says, "God is known in HER palaces for a refuge." Even without changing anything, I have totally misinterpreted this verse by ripping it right out of its context to make it fit a preconceived idea. (Please note: I do not truly believe that God is a woman.) The "her" in this passage actually refers to Mount Zion, but unless you read it in context you would not know that.
I say all of that to say this: Whenever we try to make the Bible say something that contradicts what is plainly written, there is something wrong with our interpretation, not the other way around. The very first rule of hermeneutics is that if the plain sense makes perfect sense, seek no other sense. If the Bible says one thing and it does not fit my predetermined theological system, I do not have the liberty to add anything to it or take anything from it, so that I can maintain what I believe, even if it goes against logic and reasoning. I am positive that God knew what He meant to say and the Holy Spirit recorded it precisely the way it was supposed to have been recorded.
This has turned into a longer introduction than I intended, but I feel that to say what I am going to say this foundation has to be laid. However, I will have to finish it in another post in the next couple of days. Think about what has been written so far and be sure that you believe what you believe because it is plainly written in the Scriptures. Remember, "What does the Bible say?"
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